Why do two of General Motors’ current Cadillac ads mention famous American inventions, companies and bands born in garages, but conspicuously omit Apple, which just happens to be the world’s most valuable company?
The voiceover for GM’s “Garages” ad for the Cadillac CTS sedan reads:
The Wright Brothers started in a garage. Amazon started in a garage. Hewlett Packard and Disney, both started in garages. Mattel started in a garage. The Ramones started in a garage. My point: You never know what kind of greatness can come out of an American garage.
No Apple. Seriously? This is like having an ad that names famous soft drink companies not naming Coca-Cola.
The omission is so blatant, the only answer has to be “follow the money.”
In another currently-running Cadillac ad that lists famous American innovators, Cadillac’s ad copy mentions Bill Gates — whose claim to fame is ripping off the look of the Mac and foisting his backwards and upside-down, insecure rat’s nest of code upon the world — but, even more conspicuously, omits Steve Jobs. How can a commercial that seems to be describing Steve Jobs to a T, not actually mention Steve Jobs? Imagine if there was an ad naming successful U.S. Presidents that failed to include George Washington? It’s ridiculous!
Who’s pitching in for this co-op campaign to subtly cross-promote and blatantly ignore Apple within Cadillac’s ads, Samsung, Microsoft, or some other outfit(s)?
Expunging Apple in these ads only serves to scream “Apple!” and “Steve Jobs!” to anyone with even a passing knowledge of famous American companies born in garages and famous American innovators.
SteveJack is a long-time Macintosh user, former web designer, multimedia producer and a regular contributor to the MacDailyNews Opinion section.
MacDailyNews Take:
Dear GM and cohort(s),
We noticed, you idiots. How could we not?
By the way, Apple product users dominate your target market, morons. Who are you going to insult next, 75+ white men with discretionary income who still think “Cadillac” means something?
Not that we’d be likely to ever consider a friggin Cadillac anyway, but you’ve just insured that we never will.
Well, I did like Cadillac, offing morons.
The most likely scenario is that they ask Apple for permission and apple said no – they don’t want to be lumped in with a bunch of also rans – just like iphones cannot be featured in a mobile carrier ad if other phones are also shown … the other explanation is Cadillacs ad agency also servces some of the other comapnies listed …
I was wondering the same thing. Great post MDN/Steve Jack. Thanks for clearing the air!
In value and performance, the Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Corvette have been beating the international competition by leaps and bounds. Yet BMW, Mercedes, etc, are raking in the profits — largely on unsupported perceptions of a superior brand.
This isn’t fair to GM and it’s trying everything to change it.
And there’re no right or wrong ads to do this — only ads that work.
The fact that we’re talking about Cadillac now is proof enough that this ad works.
Funny… It seems that Apple is getting more out of this ad than GM!